and public health staff to take action on what we've discussed in all of our previous modules. We've spent the last six modules discussing laws, regulations, and gaps in services that people with DD and their families have told us. So what can you and your organization do about it? Firstly, you can connect with local disability groups. While we can sit here and discuss generalized accessibility and generalized inclusion ideas, it is the most important and the most valuable thing is to connect with your local community and the people who need your services. By connecting with local disability groups, not only will you and your organization learn information about your gaps in services and what your community needs, but you are also promoting what you already do to individuals with disabilities who may need your services. Secondly, it's important to examine your accessibility. Do your and your organization's activities not only cover accessibility and inclusion? One example is it's important to involve people with DD and their families in developing and promoting programs. Don't just ask these individuals to attend and review programs or projects that you're already doing. Make them a seat at the table and let them help in developing and promoting all of your programs to make them not only accessible, but inclusive from the start. It's also important to make sure that all of your resources are inclusive for everyone. And this could look very different depending on the resource. One example could be translating items into multiple languages or having sign language interpretation available. Another example is providing physical fidgets during your physical and in-person events so that way individuals with sensory needs can use them. Or ensuring that all of your social media posts that have images have alt text so that way individuals with screen readers can understand and gain the same information. You can also add stop places to ask patients and individuals if they need accommodations. One thing that we heard often during the COVID-19 pandemic from individuals with disabilities was that they stopped going or were afraid of going to vaccine events like drive-thru vaccinations because they weren't sure if an accommodation was going to be available or possible in those events. By adding stop places, like a checkbox, on your online forms for registration, you can not only allow individuals to know that they will be accommodated, but also allow your organization to prepare for the accommodations that may be needed. One resource to work on your inclusivity and inclusion of individuals is an inclusive program checklist that was made in partnership with the AgriLife Extension Agency. This checklist does focus primarily on presentations and communication, and it aims to remove participation barriers in communication and physical accessibilities. A PDF copy of this checklist is available in your modules. We hope that this course has allowed you to understand what gaps in services and laws and regulations around developmental disabilities in public health there are, and we hope that these suggestions can help you and your organization make everything a little bit better for individuals with disabilities. Thank you.

developmental disabilities

accessibility

inclusivity

public health

program development